Super Bowl 2018: Who won the war of the movie trailers?

Say what you want about the appeal of American Football and its extravagant halftime shows, but the Super Bowl still remains one of the most watched TV events in the world. Naturally, movie companies are champing at the bit to have their trailers seen during this annual spectacle, and here’s what we thought of the 2018 lineup.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Yes, we finally got a trailer for the latest in Disney’s Star Wars canon, Solo: A Star Wars Story, directed by Ron Howard. In this minute-long trailer, we see a young Han Solo, played by newbie Alden Ehrenreich, who plans to be the “best pilot in the galaxy” – a promise worthy of the cocky later version played by Harrison Ford. Other big names making an appearance are Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke and Donald Glover (or ‘Childish Gambino’ to hip-hop fans).

There’s plenty of fan service here, with tantalising shots of the Millennium Falcon in action, as well as a glimpse of everyone’s favourite sidekick, Chewbacca. The teaser was certainly enough to peak our curiosity following the other excellent Star Wars stand-alone movie, Rogue One.

Excitement level: 8/10

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

The reboot of the Jurassic Park franchise certainly delivered dinosaur-fuelled action, and Chris Pratt was a likeable lead, but it was otherwise a bit forgettable. And the less said about Bryce Dallas Howard’s character, the better.

The new trailer for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom looks to be upping the ante, with even more dangerous bio-engineered dinosaurs (because the bog-standard dinosaurs from the previous movies obviously didn’t cause enough trouble).

If mindless popcorn blockbusters are up your street then look no farther than this cash-grab sequel.

Excitement level: 6/10

The Cloverfield Paradox

This was perhaps the surprise of the night, as Netflix unexpectedly dropped a trailer for The Cloverfield Paradox, a prequel to J.J. Abrams’ under-the-radar hit of 2008.

This film, which premiered on Netflix directly after the game, showed a lot of potential, with a distinct sci-fi vibe and the promise of revealing the origins of the otherworldly, rampaging monster from the original.

Excitement level: 8/10

Westworld – Season 2

No, this isn’t a movie, but it’s no less cinematic. Fans of the original series were salivating to finally get a full glimpse of the new season of Westworld, following the breathtaking season 1 finale in 2016. They were doubtless satisfied by this trailer, which starts with a piano tinkling out the tune to Kanye West’s ‘Runaway’ over stunning Western landscapes.

The trailer reveals little plot, but showcases the spectacular visuals, violence, and fan favourites returning in style – Dolores and Maeve are looking like particularly badass revolutionaries. Although some of the footage (specifically the ‘bulls on a rampage’ sequence) won’t actually be in the second season, it acts as a perfect metaphor for the android uprising to come. And we honestly can’t wait!

Excitement level: 10/10

The Avengers: Infinity War

Are you up to date with all the latest goings-on in the Marvel Universe, or did you find Captain America: Civil War completely baffling? (Who didn’t, right?) Well the newest offering is an incredibly ambitious amalgamation of the Marvel Universe, with too many superheroes to even count. All the Avengers are in there, alongside the Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man, Black Panther… The list really does go on.

This short but sweet trailer includes tongue-in-cheek shots such as Iron Man rather rudely breaking through one of Dr Strange’s hex formations. There’s a lot of promise in this trailer, which shows that Marvel isn’t resting on its laurels for a guaranteed box-office hit, but actually pulling out all the stops.

Excitement level: 8/10

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan

Again, not strictly a movie, but instead a blockbuster Amazon Prime exclusive series that brazenly uses the popularity of the Tom Clancy brand to try and reach a mass audience. Josh Krasinski takes his turn to play the hero who runs around a lot while objects randomly explode around him. But who knows, this may well be the next 24 and prove a hit, where so many globe-trotting spy series copycats have failed. Judging from this trailer, we’re not getting our hopes up.

Excitement level: 5/10

Skyscraper

Among the multitude of bizarre celebrity contenders being put forward to run against Trump in 2020 is Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. But please, this man’s schedule is already packed beyond a reasonable degree; he needs a break, surely!

Having starred in three major movies released across seven months, Johnson is back again without the slightest sign of fatigue as he takes on a clandestine organisation and climbs up a rather rickety-looking skyscraper to rescue his family. It looks like bog-standard action fare, but The Rock is always great to watch, even if it is in generic action-disaster movies.

Excitement level: 6/10

Mission: Impossible – Fallout

Talking about action rock-stars who never to seem to rest, Tom Cruise is back yet again following the disappointing Mummy reboot. He’s back on familiar ground with the ever-popular Mission Impossible franchise, performing increasingly ludicrous stunts. He famously broke a leg on the set of this movie, which is a shot included in the trailer!

The stunts look breathtaking, and the cast a likeable foil to Cruise’s renegade agent Ethan Hunt. If you’re in the mood for a solid action-thriller with the staple shots of Cruise doing his patented run, there’s no way you can go wrong with this film. A great trailer that promises some atomic action.

Excitement level: 9/10

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